


Opening Set

by jetsam



Category: Bakuman, Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: 100-1000 Words, Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-07
Updated: 2010-11-07
Packaged: 2017-10-13 02:39:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/131910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jetsam/pseuds/jetsam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tezuka, manga and alternative careers</p>
            </blockquote>





	Opening Set

Tezuka is not a boy who leaves matters to chance. His grandfather has helped him formulate a career plan and he means to stick to it. Law will be both intellectually challenging and financially rewarding, and he is planning accordingly.

That said, it would have been foolish to turn down his uncle's offer of a day's work experience with a top manga publisher.

He shows up early, well aware that he's likely to be serving coffee all day. He's read the previous two editions in preparation, familiarising himself with the current stories. He already knows most of them - enough of his friends have subscriptions to ensure that. At first glance, there is none of the glamour that he'd expected and a lot more chaos. It is messier than any room at school, and there are empty coffee mugs on every available surface.

By ten o'clock, his uncle has abandoned him, vanishing into the finance department and Tezuka's been pulled from the stack of filing he'd been assigned. It doesn't take long before he's deep in discussion about his classmates' music preferences, and is surprised at how much he's subconsciously picked up. He rather enjoys the feeling of having such respected people asking his opinion, and not about tennis either.

By twelve he is attached to one of the editors and listening intently as the man makes sense of the mess of scribbles he's presented with. It's for a basketball manga, not tennis, but he can feel the enthusiasm of the artist and the realism catching his interest.

At two, Tezuka's collared as note-taker for an editorial meeting and watches with unaccustomed admiration as the Chief Editor takes command of a rather motley crew. He's bold and decisive and Tezuka tries his best to follow the sharp logic. He can't help but think that this is a captain he'd be happy to follow.

Tezuka leaves that evening with fresh reading material in his bag and an offer to come in for a longer spell in his next holiday. It's not law, but he thinks he might take them up on it. After all, no battle plan survives the first engagement with the enemy.


End file.
